Native Plants Protection Act 1934

Native Plants Protection Act 1934

Public Act1934 No 15
Date of assent23 October 1934

An Act to provide for the protection of native plants

1 Short Title

  • This Act may be cited as the Native Plants Protection Act 1934, and shall come into operation on the 1st day of January 1935.

2 Interpretation

  • In this Act, unless inconsistent with the context,—

    Crown land includes all land vested in Her Majesty which is not for the time being held under lease or licence, or which has not been set apart in any manner for a public purpose, and also includes customary land as defined by the Maori Affairs Act 1953

    Crown land: The reference to “Her Majesty” has been updated from a reference to “His Majesty”, and the Maori Affairs Act 1953 has been substituted for the repealed Maori Land Act 1931.

    Minister means the Minister for the time being charged with the administration of this Act

    Native plant means any plant which is indigenous to New Zealand, and includes any part thereof except ripe fruit, ripe seed and spores

    To take, in relation to a protected native plant, includes gathering, plucking, cutting, pulling up, destroying, digging up, removing, or injuring the native plant

    Private land includes all land other than Crown land or land comprised in any State forest land or public reserve

    Private land: The reference to “State forest land” was substituted for a reference to a “State forest” by section 18(5) of the Forests Act 1949.

    Protected native plant means any native plant for the time being declared pursuant to this Act to be a native plant protected under this Act

    Public reserve includes any land which is not for the time being held under lease or licence, and is subject to the provisions of the Public Reserves, Domains, and National Parks Act 1928, the Tourist and Health Resorts Control Act 1908, the Scenery Preservation Act 1908, the Tongariro National Park Act 1922, the Egmont National Park Act 1924, or the Peel Forest Act 1926, and also includes all lands reserved from sale or other disposition by virtue of section 129 of the Land Act 1924, and any other land which may be declared by the Governor-General by Proclamation to be a public reserve for the purposes of this Act

    State forest land includes all land comprised in permanent State forest land or provisional State forest land under the Forests Act 1949 which is not for the time being held under lease or licence.

    State forest land: the references to “State forest land, permanent State forest land, and provisional forest land” were substituted for references to a “State forest, a permanent State forest, and a provisional State forest” by section 18(5) of the Forests Act 1949; and the Forests Act 1949 has been substituted for the repealed Forests Act 1921-22. By section 18(5) of the Forests Act 1949 (as substituted by section 4(1) of the Forests Amendment Act 1973) references in any Act to State forests, State forest land, permanent State forest land or provisional State forest land are to be read as references to State forest land. By section 4(2) of the Forests Amendment Act 1973 a new definition of State forest land has been substituted for the former definition in section 2 of the Forests Act 1949 as follows: State forest land means land set apart as State forest land under this Act.

3 Native plants may be protected

  • (1) The Governor-General may by Warrant under his hand declare any native plant specified in such Warrant to be protected under this Act.

    (2) Such protection may apply throughout the whole of New Zealand or in such part or parts only as may be specified in the Warrant, and may be subject to such conditions (if any) as the Governor-General may think fit.

    (3) Any such Warrant may at any time be in like manner amended or revoked.

4 Offence to take protected native plant

  • (1) Subject to the provisions of this Act, every person commits an offence who takes any protected native plant that is growing on any Crown land, or in any State forest land or public reserve, or on any road or street, or who, without the consent of the owner or occupier of any private land, takes any protected native plant that is growing thereon.

    (2) Nothing in the foregoing provisions of this section shall apply to the taking, in reasonable quantities, of any protected native plants required or intended for medicinal purposes or for purposes of bona fide scientific research or nature study in schools or elsewhere or for propagation in private or school gardens:

    Provided that nothing herein shall be deemed to authorise the taking of any protected native plant in such a manner as to deplete the species of that plant in any one habitat.

    In subsection (1) the reference to “State forest land” was substituted for a reference to “State forest” by section 18(5) of the Forests Act 1949.

5 Possession of protected native plant prima facie evidence of offence

  • In any prosecution for an offence under the last preceding section, proof that a protected native plant was found in the possession of the defendant shall be prima facie evidence that he has committed an offence against that section, and the onus of proof to the contrary shall be upon him.

6 Power to give authority to take protected native plant

  • (1) The Minister may, subject to any limitation as to locality and to any other conditions he thinks proper, issue permits authorising the holders thereof to take the protected native plants specified therein for scientific purposes, or for any other purpose approved by the Minister.

    (2) The Minister may, subject to such conditions as he thinks proper, delegate any of the powers conferred on him by this section to any other person or authority.

7 Refusal by person suspected of offence against this Act to give name and address to authorised person

  • Every person commits an offence against this Act who, being reasonably suspected of having committed an offence against section 4 hereof, refuses to give his name and address, or gives a false name or address, or refuses to deliver up any protected native plant found in his possession, to any member of the Police, or to any officer of the Crown whom the Minister may authorise in that behalf by notification in the Gazette, or to any officer of any local authority, Board, or trustees having control of any public reserve, or (where such person is found on any private land on which the offence is suspected to have been committed) to the owner, lessee, or licensee of that private land.

    The reference to the “Police” was substituted for a reference to the “Police Force” by section 66(4) of the Police Act 1958.

8 Penalties

  • Every person who commits an offence against this Act is liable on summary conviction for the first offence to a fine of $10, for the second offence to a fine of $20, and for every subsequent offence to a fine of $40.

    The expressions “$10”, “$20” and “$40” were substituted for the words “five pounds”, “ten pounds”, and “twenty pounds” respectively by section 7 of the Decimal Currency Act 1964.

9 Regulations

  • The Governor-General may from time to time, by Order in Council, make regulations—

    • (a) Prescribing the forms required under this Act:

    • (b) Prescribing any other matters for which regulations are contemplated or required by this Act or which he deems necessary for the efficient administration thereof.

10 Other Acts not affected

  • Nothing in this Act shall be construed to limit the provisions ofthe Forests Act 1949, the National Parks Act 1980, or of the Reserves Act 1977, or of any other Act.

    The Forests Act 1949 has been substituted for the repealed Forests Act 1921-22. The National Parks Act 1980 and the Reserves Act 1977 have been substituted for the repealed Public Reserves, Domains, and National Parks Act 1928, and also for the repealed Scenery Preservation Act 1908 (represented by points of omission).

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